by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)

Welcome to FUZZY MEADOWS, our weekly recap of this week's new music. We're sharing our favorite releases of the week in the form of albums, singles, and music videos along with the "Further Listening" section of new and notable releases from around the web. It's generally written in the early hours of the morning and semi-unedited... but full of love and heart. The list is in alphabetical order and we sincerely recommend checking out all the music we've included. There's a lot of great new music being released. Support the bands you love. Spread the word and buy some new music.

*Disclaimer: We are making a conscious effort not to include any artist in our countdown on back-to-back weeks in order to diversify the feature, so be sure to check the "Further Listening" as well because it's often of top-notch quality too.

BAD HISTORY MONTH | “God Is Luck”

Following last month’s loose and (relatively) breezy True Delusion EP, Philadelphia via Boston’s Bad History Month, the long running and shapeshifting project of Sean Sprecher, have announced their third full length, God Is Luck. Due out on September 29th via Exploding In Sound and Julia’s War, there’s an immediate density and complexity to the album that feels eerily spellbinding. Using a method of editing that found Sprecher “chopping” up recordings, the details are vivid and the scope feels enormous, pieced together with contributions from members of Sun Organ, Ugh God, Ruah, and beyond. The title track and album opener, “God Is Luck,” opens the floodgate, a song both meditative and soothing, but surging with ramshackle drums (courtesy of Ugh God’s Curt Howard), piercing distortion, and a clamoring presence. It’s in that dichotomy between the serene and swarming that Bad History Month are at their best, letting the music wash over the listener as Sprecher’s lyrics offer a poetic resolve, submitting himself to his own version of luck in life.

BED BITS | “Ceiling”

“Ceiling” is our introduction to Bed Bits, the dazzling outsider-pop project of Los Angeles’ Alex Edgeworth. As a former member of Happy Jawbone Family Band and a collaborator of Chris Weisman’s, her solo music embodies a similar world, equal parts irreverent and enraptured. Edgeworth’s songs are minimalist at their core, but her use of wonky progressions and texture create a sense of anything-is-possible pop magic reminiscent of Kamikaze Palm Tree. Set to release their self-titled album on September 27th via I’m Into Life Records (The Lentils, Open Head, Jolee Gordon), lead single “Ceiling” has us hooked, the song sputtering into existence with an understated and detached groove brought to life by rubbery melodies and a delightfully askew pacing. Edgeworth’s vocals are mesmerizing, sitting somewhat still in the mix as everything else leaps around, creating a hypnotic effect where we hang on each word, pulled forever deeper into its tractor beam.

MIKE DONOVAN | “Whistledown”

Following the clattering unpredictability of lead single “Planet Metley,” Mike Donovan (Peacers, Sic Alps) presents “Whistledown,” the calm after the storm. With Meets The Mighty Flashlight out on October 13th via Drag City Records (Axis: Sova, Flat Worms, John Fahey), we’re treated to Donovan and collaborator Mike “The Mighty Flashlight” Fellows in full blown hallucinatory open air twang, the song warbling with a gentle disposition. The bright acoustics and mellotron strings pair well with Donovan’s laid-back vocal performance, his words echoing like the wind through the trees. While the song may dwell in softer textures, the writing remains fairly adventurous, eventually picking up a rattled rhythmic heft (if only momentarily) that highlights the natural flow of the song’s progression. It’s a warm song that seems to find difficulty in seclusion, or at least the struggle to find comfort in it for an extended time.

RUIN LUST | “Eden”

If this summer has left you reeling for some brilliantly conceived death metal brutality, look no further than New York City’s Ruin Lust. With the band’s fourth album, Dissimulant, due out September 29th via 20 Buck Spin (Fugitive, Torture Rack, Ascended Dead), the trio return from the oozing depths with “Eden,” a tangled blast of demonic sludge, death metal, and savage black metal. With an atmosphere of decimation rotting at the core, Ruin Lust waste little time before the sheer stampeding assault, combining brute force with ruthless dexterity. “Eden” convulses from one rampaging movement to the next, the palpable disgust worming through the blistering riffs, primal rhythms, cavernous bellows, and solos that could only be described as violent. It’s dense and impossibly heavy, but for every shift (and there are a lot of them), Ruin Lust seem to sprint toward an inevitable end of ash and destruction.

VANISHING TWIN | “Marbles”

“Marbles” has a relentless groove. You should dance to “Marbles,” the music compels you. Vanishing Twin compel you. The London based trio are getting ready to release Afternoon X on October 6th via Fire Records (Bardo Pond, Jane Weaver, Brigid Mae Power), and based on the first two singles, it could just be one of the year’s best releases. While the title track slinked with sultry immediacy, “Marbles” throws it all out the window, embracing psychedelic pop with a hint of disco tinged prog and a will to let the sound evolve wherever it may. From the liquid loops of the intro and the circular melodies, Vanishing Twin ride a transfixed pulse, building their way toward dance-floor disorientation, motorik funk, and the song’s ping-ponging awakening. The track moves between glistening repetition, lulling harmonies, and cosmic beats to create jazz-inspired lounge pop from another dimension.

Further Listening:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (August 14th - August 20th)